Of "frightening cultural relativism" and "regressive cultures"

[Skybird]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...524630,00.html

And although more and more voices tell us that we -- the former colonialists and imperialists -- have lost the right to judge other cultures, we know just as well as this girl that this marriage is wrong. I believe that there are regressive cultures. In an era of political correctness, this is a tricky statement. But there is no other statement that can be made about this image. We behold a regressive man, who is taking what he has purchased. (...) They ask themselves: Who are we to believe that it is inhumane to sell an 11-year-old girl? Who are we to impose our values so vehemently on the Afghans, on this man and on this girl?
I don't have a clue who we are. But I know that this universe is not only a universe of iPods, Disneylands, CO2 penalties, tax write-offs, and New Year's sales in our department stores. No, I know that this is also a universe of human rights. I know that this universe is deeply shaken -- right down to its core -- by the suffering of this lonely, lonely little girl.

I wholeheartly agree. Primitive remains to be primitive - no matter how much relativism and self-denial the West is putting into his effort to make enemies of civilisation strong, while weakning the West himself. After all, we are so far ahead of them that we have realised and amdit that what our forfathers once did, was wrong - while they are stuck at the point where they do like that - and defend it and see no wrong it it and even try to impose their ways on ethically superior foreign cultures.

Keep in mind - the image is the picture of Aghanistan's face the West tries to support when fighting the Taleban. It is what still would be there if the Taleban ever would be removed again and kept away. It is the face of Afghan co0ntemporary culture.

Maybe a war then not only to remove the taleban, but also the Afghans, then? Hardly.